Billy Batson (New Earth)
frame|right|Captain Marvel by Alex Ross Real Name: William Joseph " Billy " Batson Nicknames: the Big Cheese, the World's Mightiest Mortal Former Aliases: No known former aliases Other Current Aliases: No other known current aliases Status Occupation: Newsboy; Radio personality; Adventurer Legal Status: Legal status unknown Identity: Secret Marital Status: Single Group Affiliation: Marvel Family; Formerly Justice League of America; Formerly Justice Society of America Base of Operations: Fawcett City Origin Orphan Billy Batson met the wizard Shazam and was granted the powers of Captain Marvel. Place of Birth: Place of birth unknown Known Relatives: C.C. and Marilyn Batson (parents, deceased); Mary Batson (Mary Marvel, sister); Ebenezer Batson (uncle); Sinclair Batson (cousin, deceased) First Appearance: WHIZ COMICS #2 (February, 1940) (Published by Fawcett Comics), (first DC appearance) SHAZAM! #1 (February, 1973), (current version) THE POWER OF SHAZAM Graphic Novel (March, 1994) History left|thumb|Left to right: Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel Jr., Mary Marvel, Uncle Marvel, and the wizard Shazam. When Billy was just a boy, his parents - archaeologists C. C. and Marylin Batson - were killed by their treacherous assistant, Theo Adam (see Black Adam), while on a dig at the tomb of Ramese II at Abu Simbel, Egypt. Billy was separated from his sister Mary and left in the care of their uncle Ebenezer, C. C. Batson's half-brother.Unfortunately, Ebenezer threw Billy out and stole the youth's trust fund, money set aside for Billy's care and welfare. Left penniless and homeless, Billy eked out a sorrowful existence in Fawcett City as a newsboy. For shelter, he often slept in the subway terminals. One night, a mysterious stranger - later revealed to be the spirit of Billy's father C. C. Batson - convinced Billy to follow him deep into the subway tunnels, where a marvelous train decorated in hieroglyphics and mystic runes awaited them. Billy and the stranger rode the train deep into the bowles of the earth and arrived in a cavern that held statues epitomizing the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, Envy, Lust, Hatred, Selfishness, Laziness, and Injustice. Within the cavern, Billy met the ancient wizard Shazam, a champion of mankind for thousands of years. Withered with age, Shazam sat on a throne poised benaeth a giant stone block suspended above him as if by magic. Shazam chose Billy to succeed him and granted him all his extraordinary powers. By speaking the wizard's name, a lightning bolt transformed adolescent Billy into the adult Captain Marvel, a hero possessing the wisdom of solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, thepower of Zeus, the courage of Achilles and the speed of Mercury. With this great gift also came responsibility: he must vow to uphold the cause of good and to battle the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man, duties that Billy promised faithfully to full every time he uttered the name " Shazam " Captain Marvel's origin story finds the homeless and orphaned Billy Batson making a meager living selling newspapers near an old subway station, sleeping in the doorway of the station. Billy had been living with his uncle after the deaths of his parents, but the cruel old man threw the boy out into the streets and stole his inheritance. While selling papers one rainy night, a dark clothed stranger comes to the boy, and asks him to follow him down into the subway station. There, a strange subway train with no visible driver appears, which carries the pair to the secret lair of the wizard Shazam. There, the ancient wizard reveals that he has selected Billy to be his champion to fight for good as the "strongest and mightiest man in the world--Captain Marvel!". To that end, Shazam orders the boy to speak his name, which was actually an acronym for various legendary figures who have agreed to grant aspects of themselves to a willing subject: S - for the wisdom of Solomon H - for the strength of Hercules A - for the stamina of Atlas Z - for the power of Zeus (which enhances all Marvel's other physical abilities and allows for interdimensional travel.) A - for the courage of Achilles (which would include invulnerability from ancient mythology) M - for the speed of Mercury (and, by extension, the power to fly) Billy then says the wizard's name, and is immediately struck by a magic lightning bolt, which turns him into Captain Marvel, an adult superhero. He then learns that he only has to speak the word again to be instantly changed back into Billy. With that, Shazam is immediately killed by a large granite block that falls from above his throne, and Billy vows to fulfill his bestowed role. Whenever he needed advice, Billy could light a brazier near Shazam's throne, which would summon the wizard's ghost. Marvel's first call to duty was saving the world from the evil mad scientist Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana, who threatened to silence radio forever unless he was paid a large sum of money. Resuming his regular form, Billy tells WHIZ radio mogul Sterling Morris that he can stop the Radio Silencer and Sivana; a disbelieving Morris offers Billy a job on the air if he can do so. Finding the crooks' hideout, Billy transforms into Captain Marvel and destroys Sivana's radio silencing machine and apprehends his henchmen. Sivana escapes, however, setting the stage for a long line of future confrontations. Marvel transforms back into Billy, who presents the captured criminals and destroyed Radio Silencer to Sterling Morris. True to his word, Sterling Morris makes Billy an on-air news reporter for WHIZ radio. Characteristics Height: (as Billy) 5' 4, (as Captain Marvel) 6' 2 Weight: (as Billy) 110 lbs, (as Captain Marvel) 215 lbs (xxx kg) Eyes: Blue Hair: black Unusual Features: No unusual features Powers right|thumb|Captain Marvel vs. Specture Known Powers: In his Captain Marvel form, Billy possesses: *Wisdom of Solomon--uncanny hunches and information *Strength of Hercules--Strength that rivals that of Superman *Stamina of Atlas--Captain Marvel is virtually tireless and seems invulnerable. *Power of Zeus--calls down the lightning that transforms Billy. *Courage of Achilles *Speed of Mercury--superspeed and flight Known Abilities: No known abilities. Strength Level: Strength level unknown Miscellaneous Equipment: No known equipment. Transportation: No known transportation. Weapons: No known weapons. Notes Hailed as "The World's Mightiest Mortal" in his adventures (and nicknamed "The Big Red Cheese" by archvillain Doctor Sivana, an epithet adopted by fans as a nickname for their hero), Captain Marvel was (based on sales) the most popular superhero of the 1940s. The Captain Marvel Adventures series sold more copies than Superman and other competing superhero books 12. Captain Marvel was also the first superhero to be adapted into film in 1941 (The Adventures of Captain Marvel). Fawcett ceased publishing Captain Marvel and Marvel Family comics in 1953. This was due to both a general decline in the popularity of superheroes and a copyright infringement suit from DC Comics alleging similarities between Captain Marvel and Superman. DC licensed the Marvel Family characters in 1972 and acquired all rights in 1980. Captain Marvel and the Marvel Family have been integrated into the "DC Universe", and DC has attempted a few revivals. Captain Marvel has not regained widespread appeal with new generations, although a 1970s Shazam! live action television series featuring the character was very popular. Due to the fact that Marvel Comics trademarked their Captain Marvel comic book during the interim between the original Captain Marvel's Fawcett years and DC years, DC Comics is unable to promote and market their Captain Marvel/Marvel Family properties under that name. They decided to use the word "Shazam" (based upon the aforementioned magic word as well as the name of the wizard) as the title of their comic book and thus the name under which they would market and promote the character. As a result, Captain Marvel himself is sometimes erroneously referred to as "Shazam". Trivia * Captain Marvel's adventures have contributed a number of elements to both comic book culture and pop culture in general. The most notable of these is the regular use of Superman and Captain Marvel as adversaries in Modern Age comic book stories. The Superman/Captain Marvel rivalry has its origins in a popular comics story in MAD Magazine no. 4 from 1953, entitled "Superduperman", which was inspired by the Fawcett/DC legal battles. In the story, Superduperman (an obvious Superman doppelganger) does battle with the Captain Marvel-esque Captain Marbles. Marbles' magic word was not "SHAZAM", but "SHAZOOM", which stood for Strength, Health, Aptitude, Zeal, Ox—power of, Ox—power of another, and Money. After DC revived Captain Marvel in the 1970s, they followed MAD's cue and often pitted Captain Marvel and Superman against each other for any number of reasons, but usually as an inside joke to the characters' long battles in court; they are otherwise staunch allies who get along very well with each other. Notable Superman/Captain Marvel battles in DC Comics stores include All-New Collectors' Edition # C-58 (1979), All-Star Squadron # 37 (1984), Superman no. 102 (1995), the final issue of the Kingdom Come miniseries (1996), and, most recently, Superman # 216 (2005). The "Clash" episode of Justice League Unlimited, which included Captain Marvel as a guest character, featured a Superman/Captain Marvel fight as its centerpiece. * Captain Marvel was the first major comic book hero to have a young alter ego. Although kid superheroes had generally been neglected before Marvel's introduction, kid sidekicks soon became commonplace shortly after Marvel's success: Robin was paired with Batman in May 1940, and Captain America was introduced with sidekick Bucky in March 1941. The idea of a young boy who transformed into a superhero proved popular enough to inspire a number of superheroes who undergo similar transformations, including Marvel Comics' Darkhawk, Malibu Comics' Prime, and animated/action figure superheroes such as Hanna-Barbera's Mighty Mightor and Young Samson, Mattel/Filmation's He-Man, and Warner Bros. Television's Freakazoid. Other heroes, including Marvel Comics' Thor, undergo similarly magical transformations from a weak human form to a god-empowered form. * In pop culture, Billy Batson/Captain Marvel's magic word, "Shazam!", became a popular exclamation from the 1940s on, often used in place of an expletive. The most notable user of the word "Shazam!" in this form was Gomer Pyle from the 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. Elvis Presley was a fan of Captain Marvel, Jr. comic books as a child, and later styled his hair to look like Freddy Freeman's and based his stage jumpsuits and TCB lightning logo on Captain Marvel Junior's costume and lightning-bolt insignia. Actor Cary Grant said that some of his younger fans told him they thought he bore an uncanny resemblance to Captain Marvel. * Even more than ten years after the character first disappeared, the superhero was still used for jokes, such as in The Monkees when Peter Tork tried to escape the ropes he was tied up in by yelling "Shazam!", only to magically break a mirror and sheepishly note that it's seven years bad luck for Captain Marvel. Several other episodes of The Monkees had Captain Marvel references, including using the name "Freddy Freeman" in dialogue. Captain Marvel also made a cameo in The Beatles song "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill". Another catchphrase popularized by Captain Marvel was his trademark exclamation, "Holy Moley!" * In the Fox Network animated series American Dad!, Steve's favorite t-shirt has Captain Marvel's signature lightning bolt insignia on it (although he repeatedly refers to it as a "Shazam" shirt, which is technically incorrect). Additionally, Captain Marvel made a cameo appearance in an episode of The Drew Carey Show, as part of a dream sequence. Recommended Readings * Related Articles * External Links * References * Wikipedia:Captain Marvel ---- Category:Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Golden Age